# V. S. S. Mani

> V. S. S. Mani is the Indian entrepreneur who founded Justdial, launched in Mumbai in 1996 with ₹50,000. A former directory salesman, he returned to telephone-based local search after his earlier venture Ask Me struggled. He led Justdial through its 2013 IPO and the 2021 Reliance Retail transaction, completing his term as managing director and CEO on July 31, 2026.

- **Role:** Founder of Justdial; former Managing Director and CEO (term ended July 31, 2026)
- **Organizations:** Just Dial Limited, Ask Me, United Database India
- **From:** Jamshedpur, India
- **Nationality:** Indian
- **Education:** Higher secondary education (Class 12), National High School, Kolkata
- **Known for:** Built Justdial from a small Mumbai operation into a nationwide local discovery business., Led the company through its 2013 public offering., EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2013 winner in the services category.

## Career timeline

- **1980s** — Worked in directory advertising sales at United Database India.
- **1989** — Launched telephone directory venture Ask Me with partners in Delhi.
- **1992** — Left Ask Me; subsequently worked on wedding publishing ventures.
- **1996** — Launched Justdial in Mumbai with ₹50,000 and rented equipment.
- **2007** — Justdial launched the sustained version of its website in May after earlier web experiments.
- **2009** — Bundled voice, web and mobile advertising into a single offering.
- **2013** — Led Justdial to its initial public offering and stock exchange listing.
- **2014** — Named the services category winner of EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2013, announced in February 2014.
- **2021** — Agreed the Reliance Retail investment and share purchase transaction; continued as MD and CEO.
- **2026** — Completed his term as MD and CEO on July 31; Dinkar Ayilavarapu appointed CEO effective August 1.

## Achievements

- Built Justdial from a small Mumbai operation into a nationwide local discovery business.
- Led the company through its 2013 public offering.
- EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2013 winner in the services category.
- Led the company through its transition from telephone search to web and mobile discovery.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — His term as managing director and CEO ended July 31, 2026; Dinkar Ayilavarapu was appointed CEO effective August 1.
- **2026-07** — The final reported quarter before the leadership handover recorded approximately ₹327.5 crore in operating revenue and 192.9 million quarterly unique visitors for Justdial.

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/vss-mani
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21